The Chemistry of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Introduction

YouTube Video

PTSD, also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is caused when a person experiences an ordeal that causes physical harm or mental harm. The individual was either harmed, someone close to them was harmed, or they experienced events that was imprinted in their brains. This disorder was first discovered in veterans of wars but it can also show up in people that were abused, violated, accidents, or natural disasters. The reason behind my reason to choose this type of theme for my project is that my dad got PTSD from his many deployments in Iraq, Bosnia Herzegovina, and also Kuwiat and I feel like this is a good way to show other kids how bad PTSD can be and just a little information on the subject so that they know what goes on in the brain if a loved one has it. PTSD doesn’t affect just one person. So many people in the United States and all over the world have the disorder but we just don’t see it because people hide it so well because they don’t want their loved ones to worry. It doesn’t just affect one individual. It affects an entire world.

Composition of ...

Most people may think not very much goes into PTSD but so many things are in the disorder that you can research so much and still not get every little thing in it. The components and chemicals of this disorder are:

Hippocampus

Amygdala

Noradrenaline (norepinephrine)

Dopamine (Dopamine hydrochloride: C8H11NO2 HCl)

Serotonin (C10H12N2O)

Opioid systems

Insulin (C257H383N65O77S6)

Cortisol (C21H30O5)

HPA or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal

Traumatic experience or event

Memory

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Neurotransmitters

Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

In PTSD, there are two main parts of the brain that are affected and also where all the chemical imbalance in the disorder is located at. The two main parts are the Hippocampus and the amygdala.

The hippocampus is a part of the brain that is located inside one of the folds of the brain so it is not identifiable by the human eye but the way we can find it is that it is located at the temporal lobe which lies right under the temple of the human body. An important function that the hippocampus does is that it makes information into memory and stores it in the brain. So, for example, someone experiences a traumatic event in their life and they can’t forget about it even though they try really hard to. The hippocampus has taken this traumatic event that this person has and stored it in their brain as a memory which explains how PTSD works. This part of the brain can also send connections to the amygdala which then could explain the beginning of strong emotions triggered by specific memories or events. But it is not just for making memories. It also plays a huge roll in the making of creating new brain cells for the brain. The hippocampus may look intimidating but it can be affected very easily. Alzheimer’s Disease, Epilepsy, and little blood flow are just some of the injuries the hippocampus could have.

The other big part of PTSD is the amygdala. Like the hippocampus, it is also part of the limbic system and is also inside the brain just above the hippocampus and the lateral ventricle. This is the epicenter of emotional behavior, emotions, and also motivation. A lot of signals from the other brain parts go to the amygdala because it then makes those signals into emotion. The amygdala can produce components of emotion such as heart rate changes, blood pressure changes, and also respiration changes in the body. While the hippocampus makes memory, the amygdala takes those memories and combine them with emotion which could explain why certain memories produce certain emotions for us such as happiness and fear. This is where the “fight-or-flight” mechanism comes into play. Since so many alarm circuits of the human body are located in the amygdala, there is a lot of triggers that can activate the “fight-or-flight” response.

Chemistry's Role

You may not think that chemistry is involved in disorders but chemical imbalances are such a big thing in PTSD and other disorders. When we look at PTSD and the two main parts- the amygdala and hippocampus,- we see a very big chemical imbalance in both brain parts. In the amygdala, we see a heightened level of norepinephrine, a chemical involved in stimulation and stress. This chemical strengthens the emotional reactions of the amygdala which then we can correlate it to the brain part being more hyperactive in people with the disorder. The hippocampus, however, is affected by chronic stress. Chronic stress makes the brain part smaller and also kills neurons and also the growth of new neurons. Due to this elimination of neurons, the neurochemical system in the brain become over sensitized and in which makes PTSD.

Another chemical imbalance of the disorder is the overproduction of cortisol, the hormone of stress that is produced in the adrenal gland. This hormone raises blood pressure and also produces high sugar levels or insulin. With more insulin, the blood sugar level can decrease which in turn can make the hypothalamus, another region in the brain that is responsible for the hormone production, sends out a false signal of glucose being kept away from the brain. This false signal is then sent to the adrenal gland that says to increase adrenaline which then makes the high stress symptoms of PTSD. This is just one of the many chemical imbalances in the body that cause PTSD. Other chemical imbalances are the increased release of noradrenaline, increased dopamine which makes the person more hyper aware and paranoia, and also the increased release of opioid which is an internal painkiller of sorts. Going back to the amygdala and hippocampus, this is where the memory part comes into play. The hippocampal volume is lower in people with PTSD which can explain the trauma exposure or memory deficits. But the memory is not a full memory but fragments of the memory that repeat whenever a trigger of some sort can be seen as a reminder of that event.

Background Research

PTSD can happen to anyone and everyone from children to adults. Symptoms of this disorder in adults can include:

Flashbacks

Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb

Irritability or outbursts of anger

Hypervigilance

Guilt, shame, or self blame

Feelings of mistrust and betrayal

Depression

Substance abuse

Feeling jumpy and easily startled

Symptoms in children can include:

Fear of being separated from parent

Sleep problems and nightmares without recognizable content

New phobias and anxieties that seem unrelated to the trauma

Aches and pains with no apparent cause

Irritability and aggression

This disorder can not be taken away from the person but there are different things that can help the person through it such as Behavioral Counseling and a medication called Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibitors. A loved one that has PTSD is not hopeless. You can help them by just being there for them in their time of need and also when they need someone to listen.

PTSD, also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is caused when a person experiences an ordeal that causes physical harm or mental harm. The individual was either harmed, someone close to them was harmed, or they experienced events that was imprinted in their brains. This disorder was first discovered in veterans of wars but it can also show up in people that were abused, violated, accidents, or natural disasters.

Other causes can also be genes. Scientist have been looking a specific genes that creates memories of fear. Stathmin is the protein need to form fear memories. When this is made, memories of fear start to arise.

Another cause is GRP or gastrin-releasing peptide. This is a signaling chemical in the brain that is released during emotional events. The more GRP, the more help you get control of the fear. The less you get, it can lead to lasting fear. Scientist have also found a version of a gene that controls the level of serotonin which is a chemical in the brain related to moods that can fuel the fear response.

Researchers have been studying the neurochemicals that have been associated with PTSD.

New evidence has been found that the HPA or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, a hormonal system, becomes messed up in people that have PTSD. This system is mostly involved with most stress reactions and can be known as a false alarms in people with the disorders.

Scientist have been suggesting that a messed up function in the HPA results in damage to the hippocampal in people with the disorder.

Brain imagery studies show the people with PTSD have two brain sections that are associated with the disorder; the hippocampus and amygdala.

Hippocampus plays an important role in the formation of memory and the amygdala is involved with how we learn about fear.

Recent evidence have shown that the amygdala is more hyperactive in people with the disorders.

It also shows that that the hippocampus starts losing volume. This is probably due to the memory deficits and other symptoms.

imbalance of a substance called neurotransmitters which are chemical messengers in the brain

gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

in people with PTSD, the amygdala is highly sensitive to unfamiliar situations and this causes a high stress response to the situation that can either be good or bad. This can also store the memories of this event in the brain.

Malia Schoenenberger is a student at Billings Senior High School that loves reading and also writing stories in her free time. She loves hanging out with friends and also just sitting back on and relaxing on the weekends after a long week of school. She is part of the few students in the National Honor Society and also was in the Junior National Honor Society in middle school. When she gets out of high school, Malia will be going to college at Montana State University Billings and getting her major in English and Literature. Sometime in the near future, she will also become a world renowned author around the world, writing paranormal fiction.

Comments

*All content and webpages on this website were created by High School students. Please be advised that the content, sources and writing conventions are the work of the students and have not been verified*

Find more school science projects, experiments, lesson plans and demonstrations at BealsScience.com